Mike Tyson’s return to boxing ended in a predictable defeat against Jake Paul on Friday.
Almost two decades after retiring from the sport and even longer since Tyson could have been considered a genuine force at heavyweight, ‘Iron Mike’ lost a unanimous 80-72, 79-73, 79-73 decision in Arlington, Texas.
Naturally, at 58, few were backing Tyson against a man thirty-one years his junior. Paul’s professional boxing record may leave a lot to be desired but the age gap was always difficult to ignore.
The fight has been slammed as “disgusting”, with ‘Iron Mike’ looking every one of his 58 years across eight difficult two-minute rounds.
Tyson threw 97 punches throughout the contest and landed only 18 of them. Paul, meanwhile, hit the mark with 78 of his attempted 278.
While the defeat will go down on Tyson’s record, which now stands at 50 wins (44KOs) and 7 losses, not many boxing fans will consider this anything other than an exhibition bout.
Incredibly, Tyson even called out Paul’s brother Logan after the event, having previously suggested he could make a full-time return to the sport.
Clearly, its incredibly difficult to imagine that. Tyson’s iconic in-ring career should not be tarnished further.
